TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Stacey Clark Classic
Belin Court at Hollloway Gymnasium; West Lafayette, Ind.
Game Notes / Tournament Central
Purdue vs. Southeastern Louisiana
Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 / 10 a.m.
/ Live Audio / Live Video
Purdue vs. No. 4 Kansas
Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 / 7:30 p.m.
/ Live Audio / Live Video
Purdue vs. Xavier
Saturday, Sept. 17 / 6 p.m.
/ Live Audio / Live Video
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" The No. 14 Boilermakers kick off a seven-match homestand with a trio of matches at the inaugural Stacey Clark Classic this weekend. Purdue will welcome Southeastern Louisiana, No. 4 Kansas and Xavier to Belin Court at Holloway Gymnasium for the six-match tournament which begins at 10 a.m. Friday.
STACEY CLARK CLASSIC
A volleyball season-ticket holder since 1993, Stacey Lynn Craib Clark became the face of the Gold Block booster club, serving multiple terms as the group's president, and a friend and surrogate family member for many players and staff members over the years. The biggest smile from Stacey came the weekend of Sept. 18 and 19, 2015, when she was presented with the golden hammer in honor of her service and it was announced that the Boiler Box Challenge would be renamed in her honor as the Stacey Clark Classic. Clark passed away Feb. 21, 2016, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
THE BOOK ON THE BOILERMAKERS
At First Glance: No. 14 Purdue (7-1) brings a five-match win streak into the Stacey Clark Classic, which marks the final non-conference weekend of 2016. The Boilermakers are is coming off their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 12 seasons after going 23-10 and finishing fifth in the Big Ten in 2015. The Purdue roster features seven returning players, two redshirts, a transfer and three newcomers. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his 14th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Boilermakers went 2-0 at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California, last weekend, knocking off No. 9 Stanford in five sets Friday and topping Cal Poly in four sets Saturday. Outside hitter Danielle Cuttino was named Big Ten Player of the Week for her efforts.
Statistically Speaking: Outside hitters Danielle Cuttino and Azariah Stahl pace the Purdue offense with 4.16 and 3.61 kills per set respectively. Cuttino is hitting at a .282 clip and has added 25 blocks (0.81 per set), while Stahl is hitting .221 and has also managed 2.65 digs per set, 20 blocks and five aces. Middle blocker Faye Adelaja follows with 2.63 kills per set and 1.11 blocks per stanza. Outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson (1.74), middle blocker Blake Mohler (1.52) also contribute offensively. Mohler paces the Boilermakers at the net with 1.13 blocks per set, while Atkinson has put up 24 blocks (0.77 per set). In the back court, libero Natalie Haben leads the way with 3.68 digs per set and a team-best seven aces. Stahl (2.65), setter Ashley Evans (2.39), and defensive specialists Brooke Peters (2.16) and Carissa Damler (1.94) follow with nearly two digs per set. Evans also adds 11.55 assists per set and a six aces. As a team, Purdue is hitting at a .269 clip and has served up 30 aces.
Honorable mention All-American middle blockers Faye Adelaja (2.38) and Danielle Cuttino (2.04) and outside hitter Azariah Stahl (1.80) return after contributing nearly two kills per set in 2015. Adelaja hit at a team-best .397 clip and added 0.89 blocks per set, while Cuttino put up a team-leading 1.21 stuffs per stanza. The team must fill the gap left by All-American outside hitter Annie Drews, who tallied 4.25 kills and 1.72 digs per set and 17 aces. Defensively, the Boilermakers must replace libero Amanda Neill, who pulled up 4.02 digs per set and served up 29 aces. Setter Ashley Evans is back after posting 2.39 digs and 11.06 assists per set and 22 aces as is defensive specialist Brooke Peters, who chipped in 1.17 digs per set and served up a team-leading 30 aces. As a team, Purdue hit at a .262 clip and served up 145 aces.
SERIES INFORMATION
Southeastern Louisiana: This is the first meeting between the Boilermakers and the Lions.
Kansas (The series is tied 2-2): The Boilermakers won the first two meetings in the series with the Jayhawks, which began Oct. 20, 1978, at the Southwest Missouri State Invitational in Springfield, Missouri. Purdue won via sweep on Aug. 30, 1996, in Corvallis, Oregon, but Kansas has won the two most recent contests, at the 2000 Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette and the 2002 Hampton Inn/Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kansas.
Xavier (Purdue leads the series 2-0): The Boilermakers have won both previous meetings with the Musketeers in the series which began Sept. 10, 1999, at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Flagstaff, Arizona. The most recent meeting was a Sept. 17, 2005, Purdue sweep at the Mortar Board Premier in West Lafayette.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WIN MAKES...
If the Boilermakers top Southeastern Louisiana on Friday:
- They will move to 8-1 to start the season, matching the 2014 start for the best since 2011 (9-0).
- They will earn their first win in the series with the Lions.
- They will improve to 300-151 all-time when playing in the month of September, including an 11-4 mark when playing on Sept. 16. The Boilermakers last played on Sept. 16 in 2011, topping Louisville in five sets at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge in Champaign, Illinois.
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
At First Glance: The Southeastern Louisiana Lions (1-8) return seven letterwinners, including four starters, from the 2015 team which went 13-18 and finished eighth in the Southland Conference. The Lions are coached by Jim Smoot, who is in his fourth season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Lions went 0-3 at the Utah State Tournament sponsored by Gossner Foods in Logan, Utah, last weekend, falling to Portland State and UC Riverside via sweep and to the host Aggies in four sets. Southeastern Louisiana has lost eight straight matches since winning its season opener against Southern.
Statistically Speaking: Setter Elyssa Purcell paces the Lions with 2.29 kills per set, while also adding 3.93 assists and 2.25 digs per set and a team-best 10 aces. Outside hitter Parrie Hartley (2.12), outside hitter Chloee Holder (1.97), middle blocker Savannah Alcazar (1.65), middle blocker Rachael Bun (1.60) and outside hitter Madi Odom (1.53) also contribute more than a kill per set to the offense. Bunn is hitting at a team-best .198 clip and also has put up a team-leading 15 blocks per set, while Odom adds 2.78 digs per set and nine aces. Defensively, libero Monica Ramon leads the way with 3.86 digs per set and 10 aces. Odom (2.78), defensive specialist Macey Stock (2.34) and Purcell (2.25) also manage more than two digs per set. As a team, Southeastern Louisiana is hitting .131 and has served up 51 aces.
In 2015, middle blocker Landry Bullock led the way with 3.12 kills per set, while Hartley (2.05) and Odom (1.43) followed. The team must replace three hitters who averaged more than 1.50 kills per set. Defensively, Ramon is the team's top returner with 3.12 digs per set and 35 aces. Odom (2.23) and Stock (1.73) are back after averaging nearly two digs per set. As a team, Southeastern Louisiana hit at a .170 clip and served up 145 aces.
KEEPING UP WITH KANSAS
At First Glance: The No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks (9-0), which were picked to finish second in the Big 12, return nine letterwinners, including five starters, from the 2015 team which went 30-3, finished second in the Big 12 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. The Jayhawks are coached by Ray Bechard, who is in his 19th season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Jayhawks went 3-0 at the Blue Jay Invitational in Omaha, Nebraska, last weekend, topping host Creighton in five sets, Chattanooga in four sets and Northern Iowa via sweep.
Statistically Speaking: First Team All-American right side hitter Kelsie Payne headlines the Kansas offense with 4.13 kills per set, while hitting at a .315 clip and adding 2.37 digs and 0.90 blocks per set. Outside hitter Madison Rigdon, a second team All-Big 12 honoree, adds 3.71 kills per set to go with 2.39 digs per set and a team-best 20 aces. Middle blocker Tayler Soucie, a first team All-Big 12 selection adds 1.78 kills and 0.88 blocks per set. Defensively, libero Cassie Wait paces the Jayhawks with 5.65 digs per set. First team All-American setter Ainise Havili (2.68), outside hitter Patricia Montero (2.67), Rigdon (2.39) and Payne (2.37) also add more than two digs per set. Havili also adds 13 aces to the team's tally. As a team, Kansas is hitting at a .239 clip and has served up 53 aces.
In 2015, Payne led the team with 4.39 kills per set, while hitting at a team-high .386 clip. Rigdon (2.75) and Soucie (2.18) also added more than two kills per set. Rigdon also served up 29 aces and added 2.11 digs per set, while Soucie put up a team-best 1.23 blocks per set. Defensively, Wait pulled up 5.19 digs per set, followed by Havili (2.90) and Rigdon (2.11). As a team, Kansas hit at a .299 clip and served up 149 aces.
EXAMINING XAVIER
At First Glance: The Xavier Musketeers (5-5), which were picked to finish third in the Big East, return 13 letterwinners, including five starters, from the 2015 team which went 18-12 and finished tied for second in the Big East. The Musketeers are coached by Christy Pfeffenberger, who is in her second season with the team.
Last Time Out: The Musketeers went 2-1 at the Holiday Inn West Tournament in Kalamazoo, Michigan, last weekend. Xavier topped UW-Milwaukee and Tennessee in four sets, and fell to the host Western Michigan in four sets.
Statistically Speaking: First team All-Big East outside hitter Abbey Bessler paces the Xavier offense with 4.00 kills per set, while also adding 2.26 digs per set. First team All-Big East outside hitter Kristen Massa (2.60), second team all-conference right side hitter Sofia Peterson (2.46) and middle blocker Alexis Newsome (1.77) follow. Newome is hitting at a team-best .342 clip and has put up a team-leading 1.05 blocks per set to go with eight aces. Peterson is hitting at a .321 clip. Defensively, libero Meredith Klare leads the way with 4.05 digs per set. Outside hitter Samantha Foti (2.42), Bessler (2.26) and setter Mackenzi Humm (1.75) add nearly two digs per set. Foti has served up a team-best 12 aces. As a team, Xavier is hitting at a .248 clip and has served up 43 aces.
In 2015, Bessler put down a team-best 3.74 kills per set to go with 3.41 digs per set and a team-leading 32 aces. Massa followed with 2.68 kills and 0.46 blocks per set, while Peterson managed 2.36 kills and 0.51 blocks per set. Middle blocker Lauren Frilling put up a team-best 0.87 blocks per set, while adding 22 aces. Defensively, Klare paced the team with 3.88 digs per set, followed by Bessler (3.41), Foti (2.24) and Humm (2.22). As a team, Xavier hit at a .226 clip and served up 150 aces.
POLL POSITION
Purdue climbed six spots to No. 14 in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll after being ranked at No. 20 in the Sept. 5 poll. The ranking is the team's highest since being ranked No. 14 in the Nov. 23, 2015, listing.
The Boilermakers have been ranked in 19 straight polls since entering the top 25 at No. 24 in the August 31, 2015, poll. They were ranked throughout the rest of the 2015 season, peaking at No. 14 and ending the year at No. 17.
Purdue has been ranked 178 times since the AVCA polls began in 1982, including preseason and postseason listings.
AMONG THE NATION
The Boilermakers rank among the nation's Top 50 in four major statistical categories: assists per set (11th with 13.61), kills per set (16th with 14.35), blocks per set (28th with 2.73), and hitting percentage (31st with .269).
Individually, setter Ashley Evans ranks eighth nationally in assists per set (11.71), while outside hitter Danielle Cuttino ranks 36th in kills per set (4.16) and 48th in points per set (4.61).
CUTTINO NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior outside hitter Danielle Cuttino earns her first Big Ten Player of the Week honor after pacing the Boilermaker attack in a pair of wins over No. 9 Stanford and Cal Poly at the Stanford Invitational last weekend. The Indianapolis native put down a team-leading 4.33 kills per set, while hitting at a .333 clip and adding 0.89 blocks per set. In the upset win over Stanford, the junior posted 18 kills, a season-best three digs and four blocks. Against Cal Poly, she managed a match-high 21 kills on a .447 hitting percentage, while adding four blocks. Cuttino recorded her 500th career kill against Cal Poly (513) and her 250th career block (252). She has posted double-digit kill tallies in all eight matches this season.
Top 10 Wins
The Boilermakers have posted 12 wins over Top 10 foes in the Dave Shondell era, including 10 since 2010. Purdue added a five-set win over No. 9 Stanford on Sept. 9. It was the team's first Top 10 win since beating No. 3 Minnesota on Nov. 21, 2015.
THE TIES THAT BIND
Southeastern Louisiana sophomore defensive specialist Macey Stock and Purdue redshirt senior middle blocker Faye Adelaja both attended Parkview Baptist High School in Baton Rouge, La. Three Xavier players hail from the state of Indiana: Audrey Adams and McKena Estes (Indianapolis) and Madi Kutruff (Martinsville).
THE SLATE
The Boilermakers are slated to play 11 matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, and three more against teams that are receiving votes outside of the Top 25. Purdue will face No. 1 Nebraska, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Wisconsin twice, No. 5 Kansas, No. 9 Penn State, No. 11 Stanford, No. 14 Illinois twice, No. 15 Ohio State and No. 24 Kentucky. The Boilermakers also will face off with vote getters Michigan State twice and Michigan once.